Apple to retire the Mac mini?

Nearly two and a half years ago, Apple unveiled the Mac mini, its attempt to pull the Mac platform down from its up-market roots. The diminutive system came without a display and had a price tag of $499, making it Apple's cheapest Mac system ever. Following an initial wave of curiosity and attention, however, Apple appeared to neglect the system somewhat. Indeed, the latest iteration of the machine features a somewhat outdated Intel Core Duo processor, and at either $599 or $799, it costs significantly more than the original.

Well, according to AppleInsider, Apple is now planning to retire the Mac mini indefinitely. The Mac rumor site quotes sources "for whom AppleInsider holds the utmost respect" as saying that the mini's demise is coming, although it adds, "Whether Apple will squeeze another revision from the mini, and how long it plans to allow existing models to linger, are both unclear." AppleInsider suggests that the Mac mini concept has been transformed "under more economical standards" into the newly-introduced Apple TV set-top system.